Pippen has surgery on injured right knee

Portland, Ore. Portland forward Scottie Pippen had minor surgery on his right knee and is expected to be ready to workout by July 4.

The operation, performed Tuesday in Chicago by former Bulls team doctor John Hefferon, took about 30 minutes.

Pippen, who will be 37 in September, missed 17 games this season because of a deep bruise in his right knee. It began to swell at the end of the regular season, and a postseason physical revealed that surgery was needed.

Pippen will be entering the final year of his contract and will earn $19.7 million. He averaged 10.6 points, 5.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds in the regular season .

Francis to have surgery

Houston Houston Rockets guard Steve Francis will have surgery to repair the lining of his right shoulder on May 30. Francis missed the last three games of the season because of the shoulder strain and missed a total of 25 games this season, seven because of migraine headaches. Francis averaged 21.6 points.